Boeing 737-200: Air Inuit is retiring its aging Boeing 737

In Canada, the oldest civilian airliner flies the Boeing 737. In addition to Nolinor, Air Inuit is one of the operators of legacy aircraft. The airline operates four 737-200s with an average age of over 43 years. The oldest aircraft bearing the C-GMAI registration and built when the Red Brigades assassinated Prime Minister Aldo Moro in Italy.

But now Air Inuit is issuing a notice to retire the four Boeing 737-200s. The airline based at Montreal International Airport announced Monday (July 3) that three Boeing 737-800s will be purchased. The aircraft will be equipped as joint aircraft to “simultaneously provide safe and comfortable passenger service and reliable cargo delivery,” says Air Inuit.

Less fuel, lower emissions

“The purchase of these modern aircraft also supports our airline’s goal of reducing carbon dioxide emissions,” says Air Inuit President Christian Bosch. The announcement states: “The permanent replacement of the venerable Boeing 737-200 aircraft currently in service will reduce fuel emissions by approximately 40 percent.”

Air Inuit Boeing 737-800 Combi. Photo: CNW Group / Air Inuit

Three new aircraft will be introduced gradually over the next 24 months. Air Inuit stresses that Nunavik’s runways also need to be modernized with government funding. Interview negotiations are currently underway.

Delivery to 14 coastal locations

Nunavik is the northern part of the Labrador Peninsula and the province of Quebec. About 14,000 people live there, about 90 percent of whom are Inuit, that is, they belong to the local indigenous peoples. Air Inuit was founded in 1978 by the Inuit of Nunavik to provide service between 14 coastal cities and the south.